Pittsburgh Pirates 2021 Previews: RHP Geoff Hartlieb
The Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen is one of the biggest questions the team faces heading into the 2021 season. No spot is locked down, aside from Richard Rodriguez and everyone is looking to make an impact. One of those pitchers is Geoff Hartlieb, who is entering his age 27 season. After struggling through his first big league season in 2019, Hartlieb came back in 2019 and began showing the success that he had in the Minor Leagues. He was brought up as a closer his entire professional career, and it was thought that he would take over the role someday. Now, he has his chance if he can duplicate the success he had in 2020.
He made a career-high 21 appearances for the Pirates and went 1-0 with a 3.63 ERA over 22.1 innings of work. Through September 11th, his ERA was under two and one of the best in the Pirates bullpen. His average velocity went down during the 2020 season, but with the drop in velocity came more control and an ability to put his pitches where he wanted them. Because of this, he was more effective and wasn't hit around nearly as much as he was during his Major League debut season. Now in 2021, Hartlieb is looking to take his game to the next level and become the dominant closer he was in the Minor Leagues at the Major League level.
From Rookie to Up and Comer
After rising through the Pirates system as a closer, Geoff Hartlieb struggled in his MLB debut during the 2019 season. He appeared in 29 games for the Pirates that season and posted a 9.00 ERA including an opponent batting average of just over .350. He had a fastball that was reaching into the upper 90s, but his accuracy was off and it caused him to not be able to locate the ball like he wanted to. So, he walked away from the season with plenty to work on. He started 2020 at the Pirates alternative training site, before earning the call to the Big Leagues on July 28th, 2020. Right from the get-go, you saw the lower average velocity, but he was getting better results.
From his first day in the Major Leagues, you could tell that Hartlieb meant business. He pitched four scoreless innings to start his season and consistently kept his ERA under the 3.00 mark throughout the month of August. His control wasn't where he wanted it to be, with nine walks in the month of August, but he was excelling at retiring batters once they got on base. He was used as Derek Shelton's fireman throughout the season, routinely coming in to strand runners on base. On September 11th, 2020, Hartlieb led the bullpen with a 1.86 ERA. He had two separate outings where he gave up three earned runs that pushed his ERA above 3.00, but he still ended the season strong.
He dropped his hard-hit percentage (31.7%), exit velocity (88.7%), and barrel percentage (3.3%) finishing better than league average in all three categories. His average fastball velocity dropped from 96.1 to 93.6, but batters weren't hitting the ball as hard. Overall, opponents hit just .205 against him and he started to show that he can thrive in big situations. Hartlieb did not allow a hit when he entered with the Bases Loaded, Runners at 2nd and 3rd, or Runners at 1st and 2nd. The Pirates saw how important it was to have a pitcher who could strand runners on base in the mid-2010s with Jared Hughes, and Hartlieb is trying to be that type of Pitcher for Pittsburgh again in 2021.
Full-Time Reliever
Ever since Hartlieb has come up through the Minor Leagues, he has been working as a late-inning man. However, being that he had so much success in 2020 with runners on base, his role might change a little in 2021. The Pirates are looking for someone who can bridge the gap between starters and back-end relievers. Hartlieb can do that for the Pirates while getting relievers out of trouble when they need it. If he can work on his control, he could go from being a good reliever to being an elite reliever. Last season, he walked 18.8% of the batters he faced, matching his 18.8% strikeout rate. You would like to see his walk rate drop and his strikeouts rate rise as he moves into 2021.
One of the biggest changes from 2019 to 2020 for Hartlieb was moving away from his fastball. His fastball was hit at a .320 rate in 2019, so he shifted more focus to his sinker. It ended up benefitting him as he used it 51.1% of the time and opponents hit just .196 against the pitch. He used it early and often, and as a result, he posted a career-high 61.2% groundball rate. This helped lower the amount of home runs he allowed, which was something that plagued him in 2019. When he needed a strikeout, he would turn to his slider, which he used 45.5% of the time. He picked up 14 of his 19 strikeouts on the pitch and it had a WHIFF rate of 36.2%.
I feel that 2021 will be the year that Hartlieb puts his name on the map in the National League. Now that he is using his sinker more often, it is leaving him less susceptible to the home run ball that burned him so many times during his rookie year. However, I don't think he will be used in the late innings of games. I feel he is better suited to come in when the Pirates are in trouble or to eat an inning or two that the starter couldn't. Look for his ERA to stay down between the low threes and high twos. I feel that he will crack the Pirate's Opening Day roster for the first time in his career. He will join guys like Blake Cederlind as the next generation of young Pirates relievers.
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